Bargaining set to resume

With the end of the third week of the Ontario college strike drawing near, the mediator has been called to bring the colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union back to the table to resume bargaining on Thursday.

“This strike has gone on for too long. We need to end the strike and get our students and faculty back in the classroom. We can reach a settlement quickly and have classes start again early next week,” Sonia Del Missier, chair of the colleges’ bargaining team, said in a release. “We will focus our efforts at the table and work very hard to reach a deal that ends the strike.”

The strike started Oct. 16 and saw 12,000 faculty (full- and part-time professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians) walking the picket line and the 330,000 post-secondary students, including apprenticeships, across the province putting their education on hold until the two sides can come to a resolution.

The main issues are wages, with the two sides about $250 million apart, and full-time staffing concerns.

“We have been waiting for the employer council to return [to the bargaining table],” Grant Currie, president of OPSEU Local 417, which represents all three St. Lawrence College campuses, said. “We hope for a negotiated settlement to the dispute so we can get back to the classroom with our students.”

If negotiations lead to an end to the strike before the end of the week, the main way to catch up on the missed three weeks probably would be extending the end of the semester.

“I cannot speculate on what might happen at the bargaining table, but the colleges’ bargaining team will work very hard to get an agreement. I am hopeful that a settlement can be reached quickly that will see students back in class next week,” Glenn Vollebregt, president of St. Lawrence College, said in a news release.

“Most program classes were originally scheduled to finish by Friday, Dec. 15, and resume on Monday, Jan. 8. Depending on the length of the strike, this may no longer be possible. It is possible that classes will be held the week of Dec. 18 and resume on Jan. 2. We will ensure that this information is included in our back-to-class messaging as soon as we are able to confirm.”